A circuit court judge in Florida has ruled that the state’s limit on medical cannabis businesses is unconstitutional as it runs contrary to the intent of the voter-approved initiative that legalized the medicine.

Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson ruled that an arbitrary cap on medical marijuana treatment centers, passed by state lawmakers in 2017, “directly contradicts the amendment” that legalized medical cannabis.

“Such limits directly undermine the clear intent of the amendment, which by its language seeks to prevent arbitrary restriction on the number of MMTCs authorized to conduct business in the state”, Dodson wrote in his ruling. “The amendment mandates the availability and safe use of medical marijuana by qualifying patients”.

Dodson also ruled that the state’s requirement of “vertical integration” is unconstitutional.

“It’s the first time any judge has weighed in on the licensing process at all, and what he said was unequivocal”, says Florigrown CEO Adam Eland. “What he’s saying, and I think this is super clear, is what you’re doing is unconstitutional”.